Best Body Bootcamp Week Five Check-in: Seeing changes

The changes I’m seeing as a result of Best Body Bootcamp are no longer all mental. That’s right … My body is changing, too. This week, I’ve noticed definition in my arms and my entire midsection seems less bulky overall.

There’s been a mental shift, too, though. Take this morning, for example. I totally didn’t want to work out this morning. I sat on the edge of the bed holding my exercise pants in one hand for a good five minutes before putting them on. Same thing with the bra and shirt. They sat in my lap for a good three minutes before I bucked up and got dressed and down to business.

Even though I didn’t want to work out, I pulled on the big-girl panties and did it anyway.

That is HUGE for me. You might even call it a breakthrough of sorts. I think I will.

My eating was a little problematic yesterday. The Boyfriend and I went to see “The Hunger Games” and, as usual, he wanted popcorn. It’s been almost a year since I’ve even been tempted by popcorn at the theater … but yesterday we were in a little mom-and-pop theater where they put REAL butter on the popcorn, and I wanted some.

I thought I could stop after having a handful or two. Uh … wrong. I had at least ten. Maybe more. I lost count after a while. That’s what happens when I have access to a trough of popcorn.

The good thing is, when I realized I was mindlessly munching a lot more carbs than I’d intended to eat, I put on the brakes. I folded over the bag and set it on the floor, out of sight and (to a lesser extent) mind.

It just proved my point, though: I can’t eat carbs like that … at least not when they’re available in unlimited quantities. The first time I did Atkins, after seven months on the plan my roommate and I went to a movie for her birthday, we split a SMALL popcorn and I was fine with that. We did the same thing on a few other occasions (but not every time we saw a movie).

That’s okay. Limited — very limited — servings of high-carb foods I can handle. But the giant bag of popcorn sitting in the Boyfriend’s lap? Once I gave myself permission to have that first handful, it was open season on fluffy, buttery yumminess.

Lessons learned this week:

Bootcamp rocks as a way to change my body and my mindset.

Step away from the popcorn. It’s still way too easy for me to fall back into over-consuming junk carbs.

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Losing weight is easy …

... if you're in a coma, maybe. Most of us have to work at it — every day and every minute. It's not easy to make the right choices, to drink water instead of (diet) soda, pick the grilled chicken sandwich instead of a burger or choose to get up and get moving instead of lounging around in bed. After spening too long making the wrong choices, I've re-committed to a low-carb lifestyle. My choices may no longer be Weight Watchers- or Whole30- or paleo-approved, but the concept is the same: I'm still getting closer to my goal weight one choice at a time.

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Disclaimer

Please note that I’m not a doctor, registered dietitian or fitness expert. I'm merely sharing my experiences with weight loss, cooking and life. This is what works for me—or sometimes doesn't. That doesn't mean it will/won't work for you. When it comes to your health and fitness, do your research. Everybody is different.